Workers Compensation

Our physicians render specialized care to the injured worker for any orthopedic condition requiring emergency, operative or conservative care. If you experience a work-related injury and wish to be treated by one of our physicians, arrangements can be made directly with our office by you, your employer or the emergency room. Lancaster Orthopedic Group is on many Workers’ Compensation panels across the county, so ask your company if you can be directed towards one of our physicians. The goal is always to get the employee back to work in a safe and timely fashion.

To facilitate this process, LOG has a full-time dedicated Workers’ Compensation Coordinator who works in a team approach with our physicians. Our coordinator also works closely with patients, employers, insurance carriers, and rehabilitation consultants to assure the process following an injury runs smoothly.

We know how important communication is to the parties involved in a Workers’ Compensation case. As a result, our coordinator is available to assist you in a timely manner and to address any questions or concerns you may have. At the time of referral, we will ask for information on the injured employee’s occupation, job demands, work status, and whether or not modified duty is available. This information will assist the physician in being aware of return-to- work options, in addressing work issues, and in returning the injured employee safely back to work as quickly as possible.

Work Hardening

For situations in which injured workers need to build up their strength, endurance, range of motion and flexibility before returning to the job, LOG offers individualized work hardening and work conditioning programs. Work hardening involves real or simulated work activities, such as repetitive reaching, material handling and assembly. It is highly structured and goal-oriented, with patients reporting to our clinic’s simulated work environments 3-5 days a week for up to 4 hours per day. Tasks are graded to progressively improve an employee’s physical capabilities while addressing the issues of safety, physical tolerance and work behaviors. Modified conditioning programs are available for individuals who are able to concurrently work light duty. Throughout the work hardening or conditioning period, the patient in conjunction with the physician, employer, insurance carrier, nurse case manager and other professionals. We strive to maintain open lines of communication and continuity of care. By utilizing this interdisciplinary approach, the experience and expertise of our staff and the latest advances in rehabilitation, LOG gets workers back on the job as quickly and as safely as possible, all the while providing the best in physical and occupational therapy.

Functional Capacity Evaluations

LOG provides FCEs to analyze a person’s abilities to perform work-related tasks. The evaluations can be related to a worker’s specific job description or to determine “levels” of work an individual can perform. With a goal of clearly understanding the worker’s present physical abilities, the evaluations assess:

Range of motion

Muscle strength

Endurance

Flexibility

Cardiovascular fitness

Material-handling capacities

Consistency of effort

Physical demand levels

Functional capacity evaluations address the following issues: Is there a physical match between the worker’s functional capabilities and the physical demands of the job?

Is the client performing with a consistent, legitimate effort concerning functional abilities?

Is pain limiting the client’s performance?

A typical FCE will encompass one-on- one testing and involves heart rate monitoring and direct observation of pain behaviors and body mechanics. The FCE can be a relatively rigorous test depending on the difficulty of the patient’s job requirements and therefore requires medical clearance for those with systemic diseases and/or cardiovascular difficulties.